by Carol Baxter
A delighted Chubbie is announced as the winner of the first women’s pylon race at the National Air Races, 1929.
The White Fleet, with Chubbie flying the lead plane, participates in the Ford Reliability Tour in October 1929. (City of Toronto Archives)
(From left) Chubbie, Blanche Noyes and Amelia Earhart flying kites at a promotional shoot for the 1930 Women’s Powder Puff Derby.
At the rules meeting, the female aviators discovered the new conditions that were to be imposed on them for the 1930 race. (From left) Chubbie, Blanche Noyes and Amelia Earhart with race organisers.
The Eaglerock Bullet was rapidly dubbed the ‘Killer Bullet’ after several test pilots died. (Aeronautics magazine, June 1929)
The happy couple in 1932. Contrary to appearances, tensions were growing in the relationship.
Charles Haden Clarke (St Louis Post-Dispatch)
Ida Clyde Clarke and her son, Dr Beverly Clarke, at the trial. (Kane Republican)
Bill shaking hands with the jury foreman after the ordeal was over.
Bill and the Southern Cross Minor, another Avro Avian, before setting off for North Africa in 1932.
Chubbie’s office job: so close to the aviation world yet so far from the cockpit.
Author’s note
When Mark Twain wrote about his adventures in Australia, he said of his story, ‘It is full of surprises, and adventures, and incongruities, and contradictions, and incredibilities; but they are all true, they all happened.’ He could have been talking about the life of Chubbie Miller.
I first heard about Chubbie’s story early in 2015 when my wonderful publisher at Allen & Unwin, Rebecca Kaiser, told me that Richard Walsh, a prominent member of Australia’s publishing industry, had a story he thought I might be interested in. When she sent me the article that had intrigued him, I wasn’t just interested—I told them I would sell my soul for the story! They liked my enthusiasm. Soon afterwards, I had a contract for the most extraordinary story I could ever imagine writing.
And it was a story that kept on giving. The four-page article Richard had found devoted only a few paragraphs to the flight of the Red Rose. Thanks to the growing availability of online historical newspapers, I stumbled across Chubbie’s own ten-part account of the everything-that-could-go-wrong-did-go-wrong flight. Not only did it provide a detailed description of the many dramas she experienced, it documented her thoughts and feelings as well. I felt as though I had been given the key to a goldmine. I also found her own account of her Bahamas misadventure, and of some of her other flights, as well as published transcripts of entries from Bill’s diaries. Additionally, Sarah Duncanson—whose father, Ralph Barker, wrote a 1960s book about Bill Lancaster (Verdict of a Lost Flyer)—kindly gave me a copy of her father’s extensive interviews with Chubbie.
With so much personal information available—thoughts, feelings and conversations—much of The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller reads almost like historical fiction or fictionalised history. Let me stress: it isn’t. It is narrative non-fiction—that is, history told as a story. I am making this distinction clear because so many people have mentioned the words ‘fiction’ and ‘fictionalisation’ in their remarks to me about my previous books, that it is obvious that the previous author’s notes didn’t provide enough clarity about the genre. Why is this distinction important? Because writers of fictionalised history can write pretty much anything they want whereas a non-fiction author has extremely limited boundaries.
For example, the dialogue in this book is not made up. It is taken from original records: newspaper accounts, court records and Chubbie’s interviews. While some non-fiction authors do make up dialogue, in my opinion made-up dialogue transforms a work of narrative nonfiction into fictionalised history.
Writing non-fiction involves a huge amount of research. My own research trips included visits to Australian, British and American libraries. I also sent requests for help to other libraries and librarians in the United States. Mostly, however, I must thank the internet for my information. When my first book, An Irresistible Temptation, was published in 2006, readers regularly asked if I had used the internet to source material. When I said that I’d hardly used it at all, the usual response was, ‘So where did you find all your information?’ The answer: government record repositories, libraries (public and private), and newspaper originals and microfilms. For The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller, however, much of my original information did indeed come from the internet because so much more information is now available online. The biggest boon was the online historical newspapers. Thanks to the various newspaper digitisation projects, I picked up reports from Australian, British, American, Indian, Chinese and Southeast Asian newspapers and, indirectly, from other international newspapers as well. I spent a lot of money on printer paper and toner.
While I would have liked to travel to every city Chubbie visited in order to undertake research in the local record offices and libraries, it would have cost a fortune. Fortunately, the press included so many different accounts of the various incidents in Chubbie’s life that a careful analysis of the similarities and differences made it possible to sift facts from fiction.
This brings us to the troubling ‘Did he or didn’t he?’ question. When history is written as a narrative, it can be difficult to find an appropriate place to include an analysis of the evidence. Since readers might be interested in my thoughts and conclusions, I have analysed the evidence in a series of blog posts on my website: www.carolbaxter.com/bill-lancaster.html. Readers can add their own thoughts in the comments section.
Let me begin my acknowledgements by thanking the various governments and commercial enterprises who have invested in the digitisation of historical newspapers. History is being rewritten as a result. And may they continue their investment (only a small proportion of historical newspapers have been digitised to date).
It is now more than a decade since I began working with Rebecca Kaiser. I remember, as I posted my first manuscript, that I yearned with every atom of my being to have it picked up. Little did I realise that a decade later, my sixth work of popular history would be published. So thanks to Rebecca for her ongoing support, insights and friendship.
I had no idea I was even on Richard Walsh’s radar when Rebecca mentioned that he had a story for me. Richard later told me that a good book requires the combination of both a good story and a good writer. I am extremely grateful and humbled that he decided I was the right person to write this fabulous story. May we continue our collaboration in the future.
Two other people are key agents in the editorial process. This is the first time I have worked with copyeditor Aziza Kuypers, and my appreciation is shown in the fact that I would be very happy to work with her again. Also, this is my third book with Allen & Unwin editor Angela Handley. Their attention to detail is extraordinary and appreciated. They can both take credit for helping to lift this manuscript to the next level.
It is also a decade since I was picked up by my literary agent, Tara Wynne of Curtis Brown. Thanks again for your terrific support. May this be the one!
My heartfelt thanks to Sarah Duncanson for providing a copy of Chubbie’s interviews along with other material including photocopies from Miami newspapers (which are not available online). Sarah was travelling there on holiday and kindly offered to obtain copies of some newspaper trial reports I hadn’t been able to access. I am so very, very grateful. Her father’s book about Bill was republished under the title Bill Lancaster: The final verdict—The life and death of an aviation pioneer in 2015.
I also wish to thank Bill Lancaster’s granddaughter, Debbie Squires, and documentary film-makers Andrew Lancaster and Noni Couell (The Lost Aviator: The true story of Bill Lancaster) for their help and support. Debbie, I hope you feel that I have done justice to your grandfather’s story.
All writers need a group of trusted readers who are willing to spend hours and hours reading an early draft and offering criticisms and suggestions to improve it. I am blessed wi
th my own group: Mike Elliott, from Stoke Poges, England, who also devoted hundreds of hours to helping me with internet and British library research for this book and who found most of the published pictures; Kate Wingrove (you are still always right); Meredith Jaffé (whose debut novel, The Fence, has just been published to critical acclaim); and my pilot and engineer brother, Peter Baxter, for helping me with aviation technicalities that were leaving me stumped.
To Natasha Duwin, Tobias Franosek and their sons Ivo and Kai, who welcomed me to an Argentine barbecue in what was once Chubbie’s Miami home, thank you! To see that room, to imagine it in the early hours of 21 April 1932, was a surreal experience.
To the many others who provided assistance with the book: Hamish Allen, aviation writer; Dave Batchelor, archivist, Craighead Diocesan School, Timaru, New Zealand; Scott Brener, aviation historian of Apple River, Illinois; Jim Eames, aviation expert; David Howells, aviation expert; Jenny Johnson, archivist, Stanford University; Sarah Keen, Head of Special Collections, Colgate University; Dan Lewis, Public Relations Manager, Stanfords, London; Christopher Manvell, seller of Popular Flying magazines; Terry Metter, librarian, Cleveland Public Library; Blake Robinson, librarian, Florida Collection, State Library of Florida; Dave Robinson, Aviation Ancestry, UK; Sheila Sanders, researcher, Sacramento Genealogical Association; Michael Sheraba, Collections Manager, International Women’s Air and Space Museum, USA; John Shipley, librarian, Miami-Dade Public Library; Clive Small, former Assistant Police Commissioner of New South Wales; Drew Smith, librarian, Academic Services Department, University of South Florida; Robert Tucker, librarian, Wichita Public Library; Colin Wells, author, of New York, and Andrew Wright, editor, Aircrew Book Review, who proofread the book and checked technical details. Thank you all.
As ever, to my wonderfully supportive and forbearing family: my husband, Allan Ashmore, who was so intrigued by all the stories I kept telling him about Chubbie’s adventures (‘You’re not going to believe what I’ve found now . . .!’) that he insisted on reading the manuscript rather than waiting for the published book; my snake-phobic daughter, Camillie Ashmore, who raced from the room every time I mentioned the snake-in-the-plane incident (sorry about that!); my son, Jaiden Ashmore, for putting up with my constant talk about Chubbie; and my mother, Jill Baxter, who is my best-ever publicist. Also to my daughter’s boyfriend, Chris Holliday-Smith, for his suggestion regarding a title: The Girl on the Plane. Somehow I will manage to slip that into my author talks.
And finally, to Chubbie herself. It is a strange experience to have another person take over one’s life for two years—even more so, I suspect, when that person was real. For the first time ever, I am a little bit in love with my protagonist—particularly after seeing the film footage of her (look at the eight-minute mark on http://mirc.sc.edu/islandora/object/usc%3A28623). She is just gorgeous. It’s going to be extremely hard to cut her out of my life and to embrace another historical character. So, Chubbie, this is for you. I hope you would have loved what I have written as much as I loved writing about you.
Notes
Page 19: He had just turned sixteen when his parents dispatched him to Australia to gain experience on the land: Previous publications have noted that Bill and Jack went to Australia with the Dominions Royal Commission; however, original sources indicate that this information is not correct. The Dominions Royal Commission visited Australia in 1913 with Sir Rider Haggard in attendance. Bill sailed for Australia in February 1914 and Jack two years later. When Bill was later interviewed by Chubbie’s husband, he said that his father, acting on the advice of Sir Rider Haggard, had sent his boys to Australia to gain experience on the land. This explains why the boys were in the Riverina district (although working as electricians by then) when they enlisted. It is possible Haggard’s advice was generic—from the stage during a seminar—rather than as the result of a personal conversation with Bill’s father.
Page 117: During the Red Rose flight, the press referred to Chubbie either as Mrs Keith Miller or Mrs Miller. In America, Chubbie referred to herself as Mrs Keith Miller. The press often treated the two components as a hyphenated surname: Mrs Keith-Miller. After her divorce, she called herself Mrs J.M. Keith Miller or Mrs Jessie M. Keith Miller, as if she had a double-barrelled surname. However, the press often treated it as a hyphenated surname: Mrs Keith-Miller. For consistency purposes, this publication uses Mrs Miller unless the reference to her name is in a quote.
Page 141: Only nineteen of the twenty registered planes were lined up. The twenty participants in the Powder Puff Derby of 1929 were Pancho Barnes, Marvel Crosson, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Elder, Claire Fahy, Edith Foltz, Mary Haizlip (who arrived late), Opal Kunz, Mary von Mach, Chubbie Miller, Ruth Nichols, Blanche Noyes, Gladys O’Donnell, Phoebe Omlie, Neva Paris, Margaret Perry, Thea Rasche, Louise Thaden, Bobbi Trout and Vera Walker. Marjorie Crawford, Peggy Hall, Gladys Poole and Patty Willis registered but withdrew before the race began.
Page 187: The National Air Tour destinations (5–21 October 1929) were: Detroit (Michigan), Windsor (Ontario, Canada), Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal (all in Canada), Portland (Maine), Springfield (Massachusetts), New York, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Baltimore, Richmond (Virginia), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Greenville (South Carolina), Augusta (Georgia), Jacksonville (Florida), Macon (Georgia), Atlanta (Georgia), Nashville (Tennessee), Cincinnati (Ohio), Louisville (Kentucky), St Louis (Missouri), Springfield (Missouri), Wichita (Kansas), St Joseph (Iowa), Des Moines (Iowa), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), St Paul (Minnesota), Wausau (Wisconsin), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Moline (Illinois), Chicago (Illinois), Kalamazoo (Michigan), Detroit.
Bibliography
Primary sources (selected)
Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903–1980: Charles Stanley Beveridge, Ethelwyn Maude Beveridge, George Keith Miller, Jessie Maude Miller,
British Royal Air Force, Officers’ Service Records, 1912–1920: Jack Kelvin Lancaster; William Newton Lancaster,
California Passengers and Crew Lists, 1882–1959: Jessie Miller and William Newton Lancaster per Malolo, arrived from Honolulu, 11 July 1929,
Death Certificate, Jessie Maude Pugh, 1972: General Register Office, UK, Hammersmith Registration District, Vol. 5b, p. 1987.
Death Certificate, Thomas Charles Beveridge, 1926: Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney General, 1926/B49874.
England & Wales, National Probate Calender (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966: William Newton Lancaster, probate, 22 November 1933,
Florida Passenger Lists, 1898–1964: William Newton Lancaster and Jessie Maude Miller, 5 December 1930; William Newton Lancaster, 6 December 1930; Jessie Maude Miller, 26 May 1931,
Great Britain Royal Aero Club Aviators’ Certificates, 1910–1950, Album 25, Certificate No. 8819: William Newton Lancaster, 1 November 1917,
Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900–1959: William Lancaster and Jessie Miller, 6 July 1928,
Index to Alien Arrivals by Airplane at Miami, Florida, 1930–1942: Jessie Maude Miller, 6 December 1930,
Marriage Certificate, Jessie Beveridge: Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria: 1919/9161
War Service Records, Jack Kelvin Lancaster: National Archives of Australia,
War Service Records, William Newton Lancaster: National Archives of Australia,
New York City Passenger Lists, 1820–1957: William N. Lancaster per Vauban arrived from Trinidad (departed 13 April 1929),
New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957: William N. Lancaster per Vauban from Trinidad arrived 20 April 1929,
New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957: Ethelwyn M.L. Beveridge per Berengaria arrived from Southampton, England, on 1 August 1930,
Passenger Lists leaving UK, 1890–1960: Jack K. Lancaster
per Orontes departed London 27 January 1916,
UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960: Jessie Miller per American Banker from New York to London arriving 24 October 1932; William N. Lancaster per Scythia from New York to Liverpool, England, arriving 24 October 1932,
UK Outward Passenger Lists, 1890–1960: William N. Lancaster departed London on 26 February 1914 per Benalla for Sydney,
Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839–1923: William N. Lancaster per Benalla from London arrived 10 April 1914,
Victoria Inward Passenger Lists, 1839–1923: William N. Lancaster per Benalla from Britain arrived April 1914,
Film footage
‘National Air Race—Outtakes’, filmed 27 August 1929, Moving Image Research Collections,
Newspaper and journal digitisation services
Aero Digest,
British Library Newspapers, 1741–1950 (UK)—accessed via State Library of New South Wales
Californian Digital Newspaper Collection (USA),
Daily Mail Historical Archive, 1896–2004 (UK)—accessed via State Library of New South Wales
Flightglobal: Archive (UK),
Google Newspapers (USA),